Steadily Fading
by Danny Phantom SG-1
Summary: At first, we thought it was a good sign. Whenever he got hurt terribly, he would stop reverting back to human form. We thought he was getting stronger. But we couldn't have been any more wrong. Post-PP. Angsty DxS. Complete.
1. Revelations

**A/N: Well, what was supposed to be a DP oneshot turned into a much-longer-than-anticipated fic. So, I separated it into chapters. Here's chapter one. I'm not sure how many more I'll have to split it into, but we'll see. Set post-Phantom Planet (I know, I'm just as shocked as all of you).**

**As a precaution, the beginning may seem a tad bit slow. Hopefully, it'll pick up speed toward the end and in later chapters. Danny and his friends are 16 or 17 years old in this story, just as a disclaimer for later on. Thank you and enjoy. **

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Steadily Fading

At first, we thought it was a good sign. His powers were failing him in battle less and less. Whenever he got hurt terribly, he would stop reverting back to human form. We thought he just got used to it. We thought he was getting stronger.

But we were about as wrong as we could get.

I remember the first time I became suspicious of his newfound strength. He was battling some severely angry and adamant ghosts who just wouldn't let up on him. They attacked relentlessly, and Tucker and I were being held captive by them, so there was nothing we could do to help.

Not that Danny would have let us help him fight such ruthless ghouls.

Tucker whistled lowly when he saw Danny get slapped upside the head by an adversary. Danny lost his footing for a moment, and the ghost's little friends all attacked with ectoplasmic goo simultaneously. I visibly winced and turned away, afraid that, like watching a tense baseball game where you want one specific side to emerge victorious, I would jinx the entire battle with my subconscious support.

Tucker noticed my discomfort and decided to comment, as usual with the worst timing of anyone I've ever had the "pleasure" of knowing. "It must be tough dating him."

I shot him an icy glare, but he chose to ignore it, as he'd come to learn to do around me. "I mean, it's hard enough for me, being his friend, to watch him do all this, but as his girl...wow. It must be pretty difficult."

I turned away from Tucker now, eyes still narrowed. "It's not so difficult," I defended myself needlessly.

"Still," he dumbly continued, "it must make for some pretty awkward situations, what with his ghost sense constantly going off. He probably has to leave you at the most inopportune times, huh?"

I blushed, but by now daggers were shooting out of my eyes as I turned back to him. "Not as inopportune as your yapping!"

Tucker held his hands up defensively. "All right, all right. I get it. I'll shut up now. Just thought you might like some conversation, that's all."

I grumbled at him, unsure of how to treat the dolt. I swear, if it weren't for Danny, Tucker and I would NEVER have become friends. But Danny, ever the peacemaker, made sure that the two of us got along well enough to tolerate each other.

Suddenly, our attention was turned to an uproar of commotion in the battle. Tucker and I glanced up nervously and watched in helpless concern as we saw our friend get clobbered by the nonstop onslaught of malignant ghosts. Danny disappeared, screaming, under a mound of attacking spirits, and Tucker and I both held our breath in anticipation.

_Please let him be okay, please let him be okay..._

The next second, a wave of insurmountable energy erupted from the heap and Tucker and I were blown back within our confinement, forced to look away as the power emitted from the center of the horde of ghosts. I nervously peeked back at the raucous, and relief flooded my mind when I saw Danny standing, panting, in the middle of the battlefield, victorious.

My face only fell when I realized that this was the first time I had ever seen him use his ghostly wail and not revert back to human form.

Oblivious to my wonderings, Danny hurried over to me and Tucker and unbound us from our restraints.

"Are you guys okay?" Danny asked pointedly at me.

However, Tucker was the one to answer. "Yeah, man, we're fine. But I think you need to cut back on the Nasty Burgers. Your breath smells putrid!" he exclaimed sarcastically, holding his breath and waving his hand in front of his nose.

Danny laughed, and I rolled my eyes at the immaturity of my two best friends. I guess that's what I get for hanging around with teenage boys. I motioned for them both to follow me and we began to walk down the street to our original destination before our little detour: my house.

It was about halfway down the block that I realized Danny had still not changed form, and I became slightly worried.

"Danny," I commented, "aren't you uncomfortable walking around as Phantom?"

Apparently, I had not made my own discomfort evident enough for him to care, as Danny simply shrugged and replied, "Nah. I'm fine."

Was it me or did his voice sound a little shaky? Perhaps I was just reading too much into things, but the nervous glances that Danny and Tucker exchanged had me more worried than before. I, however, bit my tongue, content in knowing that if anything was wrong, Danny would tell me. I was his girlfriend, after all, so I got first priority on his "confidence" list.

Right?

I shook my head slightly so as to shake these uncomfortable wonderings from my mind. If he felt the need to walk around as his ghostly alter ego, that was his decision. It didn't matter anymore, as everyone knew that Danny Fenton was, in reality, Danny Phantom, resident hero. He still had to dodge the paparazzi and we usually continued to live life on the down-low. The only thing that had really changed significantly was that Danny and I were now officially together...finally. So, while we meandered to my house, no one thought it odd that Tucker and I were waltzing around with the ghost boy.

About twenty paces to my door, I shot Danny a warning glare and cleared my throat as if to signify something. He pretended not to notice, but I could see in his darting eyes that he was purposefully avoiding me. I grunted in frustration, but continued to my door anyway.

As expected, my parents were lounging in the living room when the three of us entered. I tried to keep quiet and tiptoe to the basement unnoticed, but Tucker in all his brilliance allowed the door to slam behind him and my parents were alerted to our arrival.

The fact that Danny was the ghost boy had not served in his favor at all in my parents' eyes. Quite the opposite, in fact. That I was hanging out with one of "those vulgar creatures" only made them more wary of my friend--oh, wait--even worse: boyfriend. Not only did they naturally dislike Danny in all his quirkiness and his support of my rebellious spirit, but they despised ghosts and NOW, they had the natural disdain that all parents of teenage girls have for her first boyfriend.

My dad cleared his throat angrily and stated, as calmly as possible, "Mr. Fenton, would you mind changing back into your _normal_ self while you're in this house?"

Danny blushed slightly and nodded curtly. He shut his eyes and crinkled his forehead. At first, I thought it was just out of embarrassment that he wanted to hide from my parents' stares, but then I noticed that it took about two seconds longer than usual for him to change back into his human form.

Strange, but perhaps he was distracted by something else.

I scrunched my eyes in his direction, alerting him of my suspicions of his awkward character recently. I would find out what was up with him, even if it took all of the arguing and protesting tactics in the book.

As we made our way to the basement, I noticed with growing preoccupation that Danny seemed more uncomfortable now than he was before.

Normally, I would have attributed this to the general rudeness of my parents, but today, I knew that something else was wrong. I didn't know what, but I would. I'd get Danny to tell me. I had to.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

The next day at school started as usual. At least, it would have seemed that way to anyone who was simply observing the three of us from a distance. Sure, we all entered Lancer's classroom, smiled at each other in a friendly, secretive sort of way and began to pass notes to each other.

However, I was not an outside observer. I noticed the dark circles under Danny's eyes that even the creases of his smile couldn't hide. He always looked tired, but today he looked especially exhausted. He always came to class late, but he was five minutes later today than his average tardy arrival. He seemed nerve-wracked by something and he was starting to irritate me with his lack of cooperation in telling me.

The worst part about the awkwardness of this day was the sudden muteness of the usually impossible-to-shut-up Tucker. He just sat in class as though he had changed on a dime overnight and decided that learning English was the most important subject in the world to him. Even in our note-passing endeavor, Danny and Tucker seemed to be holding back. Neither would comment about my subtle questioning.

Finally, when the bell rang and signaled the final period of the day, I confronted Danny in the hallway, ready to burst from my curiosity and apprehension.

"Danny," I began heatedly, "please just tell me what's up. I know something's going on."

Danny searched my features haphazardly, and when he realized that I was not going to be played for a fool today, he let out a short breath and whispered, "I--I can't."

I jerked back from him in disbelief. "But I'm your girlfriend, Danny. More than that, I'm Sam: your best friend since middle school! You can trust me with anything."

Danny nodded, smiling slightly. "I know. I just...I don't want to talk about it here. Not with all these people and in the middle of the day."

I pursued him further. "Oh. Well, then, why don't you just phase us into the janitor's closet? I'm sure we'd get some privacy in there, judging by the lack of cleanliness in our school. The janitor must have disappeared," I noted ironically, knowing full well that, in Amity Park, this was indeed a distinct possibility.

Danny hesitated and placed his hand nervously on the back of his neck. "I...I really can't."

"Why?" I asked incredulously. "You never tell anybody anything, Danny. You're going to end up exploding one day from all the pressure. Just tell me now, please," I begged.

"I won't explode," he countered, quick to get defensive. "I talked to Tucker about it..."

He cut short, clearly acknowledging, much too late, that that was definitely the wrong thing to say.

I glared at him. "Oh, I see. You can tell Tucker but you can't tell me. I get it. You know, Danny, sometimes you're just such a jerk!"

I turned and promptly stomped away, not aware of his babbling apologies and excuses. I was too angry to hear him out.

It was only later that I realized that I regretted doing so. Shallowly, not because I had lost my temper so quickly, as I often mistakenly did, but because I hadn't figured out what was wrong with Danny yet.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

I sat in my room later that night, absently brushing my hair. My eyes were open and peering into the mirror, but I wasn't really seeing anything. I was far too pensive. What was Danny not telling me? Did I ruin my chances at gaining his trust by scolding him? Would he EVER tell me the truth?

I was only shaken out of my reverie when I felt a cold draft of air waft toward me. I shivered, but turned around nonetheless, knowing what this breeze meant. I made sure to hold my head up high, too stubborn to admit to anyone but myself that I may have made an error by yelling at my boyfriend. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but my eyes quickly softened to worry when I saw the beads of sweat trickling down his face and that he was cradling his left arm which held a rather large gash.

He gave me an innocent half-grin, "I, uh...got into a ghost fight. Didn't quite escape unscathed..."

I sighed and went to retrieve the gauze that was readily available in my bathroom cabinet, set aside particularly for days like this. I returned and silently handed him the bandage, hand on my hip in exasperation. Danny flashed another fleetingly guilty grin and mumbled his thanks before he got to patching himself up.

"Why'd you come here?" I asked, miffed. "It's not like you couldn't just fly to your own house with that insignificant scratch," I condescended, wincing at the green blood that oozed from said wound.

Danny winced, probably both from the pain and from my stabbing tone. "I felt bad about earlier. I didn't think we should just leave it there," he explained. He heaved a long exhalation. "We need to talk, Sam."

I immediately sobered upon hearing Danny's suddenly and abnormally solemn attitude. Deep concern filled my thoughts as various theories of rejection buzzed through my head. "What?" I inquired finally, only now realizing that I may not have wanted to know the answer.

He took a long and shaky breath before his intense, green eyes met mine. "Tucker and I have a theory about something...and it's not good."

I nodded, deciding to bring up the subject of trusting Tucker more than me later.

"You've noticed that, lately, I haven't been changing back into my human form so much, right? Well, I originally thought it was just because I was getting better at this. I was getting used to this whole ghost-fighting routine. But...more recently, I've noticed that...it's actually difficult for me to change back."

I tilted my head confusedly. "What are you saying?"

He sighed. "It's...I don't know. Hard to feel my human half. I can't change back easily anymore. I struggle. I try and I try and it just takes so long to feel it," he continued, his voice trembling with uncertainty. "It's not just a matter of subconsciously willing myself to turn back anymore...I have to strenuously concentrate. And even then, it takes a lot longer than I know it should.

"Sam...I think I'm slowly losing my human half. I may be dying and becoming a ghost, permanently," he finished, his voice barely above a whisper and fearful tears filling his eyes.

I stood numbly, unable to comprehend. It didn't make sense. Danny was...dying? Randomly and for no reason? What had set this off? Why hadn't he told me? Why was this happening?

"Danny," was all I managed to mutter before I realized that tears were threatening to emerge from my eyes as well.

It hit me all of a sudden, like a ton of bricks, exactly what Danny's implications entailed. I felt suddenly weak and had to sit down on my bed. Danny quickly followed suit. I looked over at him, still in Phantom form.

"Change back," I told him, needing to see proof of this theory.

Danny nodded slowly, then squeezed his eyes shut, clearly concentrating hard. I could see his brow twitch every once in awhile. The effort obviously pained him, but I could see that he, too, wanted to change back horribly. I bit my lip as another drop escaped my eyes. It had already been a full minute.

Just as I could see his resolve diminishing, white rings formed around his waist and Danny Phantom slowly but surely reverted back to Danny Fenton. Both of us gave a sigh of relief, and we breathed slightly easier, but I could tell that something was, indeed, very wrong.

"So...how exactly do you guys think this works? Why is it happening now? Why you and not Vlad?" I interrogated him endlessly, blurting out questions faster than either of us could think.

Danny breathed heavily, still exhausted from his transformation, but he understood my need to understand, so he calmly provided, "Basically, little by little, the more ghost powers I use, the more used to being a ghost my body becomes. The longer I'm in ghost form, the more of my human half I lose. That's why I've been cutting down on ghostly powers lately. I had to run to school instead of fly this morning. And I couldn't phase us into the closet because I didn't want to risk using up more of my powers.

"We think it's either been gradually happening since the accident or something recently spurred it...what exactly, we're not sure. We don't know exactly when it started, how long it's been going on, or," he shuddered slightly, "how long I have left.

"As for why this hasn't happened to either Vlad or Dani, we're not positive. It might have something to do with the fact that all three of us were 'created,' so to speak, in very different manners. Vlad through a small portal in the 80's, Dani through cloning and me through a full portal created in modern times. It might be stronger...more influential, I guess. It's all just theories...but they all make sense."

My breath hitched in my throat. I was in shock and unable to think of anything else to ask or to comment. I shook my head and just looked at him. I scanned up and down his body; his seemingly perfectly normal human body.

I laughed hollowly. "I'd suggest going to a doctor, but...I don't know how much a doctor would be able to help with a human-ghost hybrid."

Danny's half-hearted smile was meant to reassure me, but it only served to make me more worried and more nervous. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked softly.

His now-blue eyes shut in anguish and he hung his head guiltily. "I didn't want you to worry. I mean...I know I'm going to die, Sam. I needed to figure out how and when to tell you the right way. I guess I forgot how brilliant you were, and I was dumb to think you wouldn't notice anything different. I told Tuck because I needed to know what he thought was the right way to tell you," he explained, his voice thin and weary.

I nodded again, not feeling compelled to say anything more. What were you supposed to say in this kind of situation? Actually, I doubted anyone else in the world had ever been in this situation, so who knew?

"I can't just stop using my powers," he continued to rationalize, probably for both our sakes. "I need to protect the town."

_And in the process, we lose you, _I thought bitterly, but I decided to bite my tongue.

"I'm going to tell my parents about it tomorrow. Maybe they'll be able to think up some crazy invention that actually helps ghosts for once," he smiled ironically. "Do you think you could be there with me when I tell them? I'd like some moral support."

I nodded furiously, but still refused to comment, afraid that the lump in my throat would jump out if I opened my mouth.

I simply let my fatigue get the best of me and I leaned into Danny, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my back and settled his own head atop mine. I closed my eyes and let myself soak in the rare moment of peace and love in our lives. I tried not to think that this could be one of the last times I would sit in my room with Danny Fenton.

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**So, like, dislike, loathe or enjoy, please send me a review and let me know. I realize it's slow, so I'll try to fix that up if I can find a reasonable way to do so, but otherwise, did you spot any problems? Typos, grammatical mistakes, continuity errors, anything. I'd really like to know. Please review. Thank you. The next chapter will be up as soon as I find time to post. **


	2. Enlightening Darkness

**A/N: I couldn't help it. I needed to post this today. So I'm eager to hear from people...it's not my fault I respect your opinions so much. :P I've missed you DP readers. It's nice to be back...so here's chapter two of my apparent three-shot.**

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I went to Danny's house early the next morning. I hadn't slept much the night before, and I stumbled with every passing breeze. It was unnaturally cold for that time of year, but it seemed to fit the mood of the circumstances. 

I rang the doorbell and waited patiently, hoping that Danny would be the one to let me in. The door creaked open and I looked in to see Jazz peering at me strangely.

"Sam? What are you doing here so early in the morning?" she asked incredulously.

I opened my mouth to attempt an explanation, but I was saved from doing so when Danny rushed down the stairs.

"Jazz, what are you doing? Let Sam in, it's freezing outside," he scolded his sister angrily.

Jazz huffed. "I was going to, Danny. I just asked her why she was here."

Danny grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, shoving Jazz aside and slamming the door shut afterwards.

"You'll find out soon enough," he mumbled bitterly.

Danny let go of my hand and poked his head into the kitchen, where his parents apparently were lounging.

"Can I see you guys for a minute? I need to tell you something," he stated with an incredible amount of composure and solemnity.

Danny returned to his spot next to me and stood with a grim look on his face. He looked as though he had gotten even less sleep than I had, and he was obviously in a very distraught state. As Jazz and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton all took their seats on the couch, I began to feel slightly uncomfortable and out-of-place as all eyes were set on Danny and me.

"Danny," I whispered, "what am I supposed to do?"

He took my hand for a moment and gently stroked my palm with his thumb. He smiled at me casually.

"Just be there," he reassured.

At last, he turned to his family and took a humungous gulp of air before he began, "Mom, Dad, Jazz, I need to tell you guys something..."

"Oh God," Maddie muttered, frightened. "Did you and Sam...?"

Danny's eyes went wide at the implication. "No! That's--that's not what this is about at all. This is something...slightly different, though equally as serious...if not more so."

The Fenton's, by now, were all on the edges of their seats. Their eyes bore into Danny like a thousand ecto-rays. Once again, he inhaled sharply.

"Something's been wonky with my ghost powers lately. It's been harder and harder to change back into my human form. I think--er, _we _think--," he clarified, including me and Tucker, "that somehow, every time I use my ghost powers, I become more and more ghostly. We think I'm slowly losing my human half...slowly becoming a full ghost," he finished, his voice barely audible.

There was a surprising lack of reaction from his family. They just continued to stare, as though not quite certain of how to respond. Danny began to stir under their intense gaze, and he shifted uncomfortably. I took his hand and pulled him closer to me, offering as much support as I knew how to give in this situation.

Finally, Jazz's eyes filled up with tears and she rushed to Danny and squeezed him tight. He embraced her as well, obviously needy for his sister's support and I stepped back a little bit, allowing the siblings to handle the shock together.

As they hugged, my eyes drifted nonchalantly over to Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, whose eyes were now downcast and contemplative. They slowly rose from their positions on the couch and made their way to the basement/lab.

"They didn't even seem upset," Danny noted remorsefully, watching them leave.

Jazz wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled, "I'm sure they're just in shock, Danny. They don't know what to think. I mean, it was bad enough when you were half ghost. Half what they've loathed for years. Now..." she didn't finish her statement, as though willing Danny's theory not to be true. "They've just got conflicting emotions: their natural hatred of ghosts and their parental love of you. It's got to be killing them psychologically."

Danny nodded absently. "This is why I didn't tell them all that time. I knew they'd never really understand."

He backed up slowly, his mind elsewhere as tears flowed from his eyes. He staggered up the stairs, obviously heading for his room. I reached out to him and opened my mouth, but though better of it. He probably needed to be alone for awhile, or he would have taken me with him in the first place.

I looked at Jazz sadly and saw that she was staring into the kitchen. "He told you before he told us?" she inquired, not angrily.

I nodded slowly. "He told Tucker before he told any of us. But, yeah, he just told me last night. I don't know exactly how long they've known."

I saw her wince slightly, as though somewhat disappointed. "Let's go downstairs and see what my parents are up to, exactly," she said, deciding to change the subject.

We walked down to the lab and saw her parents working. Mrs. Fenton was taking measurements of various chemicals in test tubes, and Mr. Fenton was gravely poking away at some sort of machine that was taking the shape of a sarcophagus. They seemed not to notice me and Jazz, but mumbled to each other absentmindedly.

"I have no idea how to do this, Jack," Mrs. Fenton grumbled, shaking her head in dismay. "I've never made anything that would actually _help_ a ghost."

Mr. Fenton shook his head in agreement. "I know what you mean, Maddie."

She whipped around to look at him curiously, and Jazz and I shirked back into the stairwell, feeling that we would get more information out of eavesdropping than general questioning.

"Just what exactly _are _you doing with the Fenton-Ghost-Coffin, Jack?" she asked, sounding horrified.

Mr. Fenton sighed and turned to her. "Sweetie, you and I have always known that ghosts are evil, right?" he asked, pausing for her to answer.

She nodded hesitantly, and he explained, "Well, basically, I think that without his human half to ground him to this world, Danny could become...well, malevolent. Now, we should most definitely try our hardest to find some sort of cure, but just in case we don't," he stood aside, motioning to the chamber, "I'm going to try to modify this so that it will keep a ghost in stasis and not necessarily destroy it. So if he does completely change before we find a cure, we can buy some extra time."

Then, Mrs. Fenton began to cry. She sobbed, breaking down right in front of us, and Mr. Fenton rushed forward to comfort her. Jazz took a large gasp of breath before grabbing my hand and pulling me up the stairs.

We stood alone in the kitchen, and Jazz's eyes darted around the room quickly, making sure we were the only ones around.

"Sam...I know that this is a difficult request, but please don't tell Danny about that stasis chamber thing," she pleaded.

I gawked at her, dumbfounded. "Jazz, why wouldn't we tell Danny about it? This affects him more than any of us. He has a right to know what his parents are trying to do," I protested, turning to run up the stairs and tell him right then and there.

But Jazz grabbed me by the arm forcefully and pulled me back. "Don't tell him. He's got enough to worry about right now. He doesn't need to know his parents are planning on preserving him once he becomes a full ghost," Jazz clarified.

Then, she sighed heavily. "Plus...they might be right."

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

That night, Tucker came over and we sat in my room, talking about things for awhile. It turned out that Tucker had only "known" about this for about a week, so I wasn't too far behind. He also explained to me that things weren't looking good in regards to finding a cure.

"I went to his house about noon today. His parents have basically holed themselves up in their lab. But everything they do keeps failing. It either outright kills the ghost DNA they're testing on or it has no effect. Nothing seems to be working..." he informed me.

I shook my head in anger. "This is so wrong. None of this should be happening. It doesn't make sense. Why should this happen to him? What did he do to deserve this?"

Tucker shrugged. "Nothing. Sometimes things just happen."

Just then, that familiar draft passed through my room and Tucker and I turned to see Danny, floating above the ground with his arms crossed.

"Tucker...what are you doing in my girlfriend's room?" he demanded playfully.

Tucker grinned. "Come on, man. You didn't honestly expect Sam to love you when she could have such a fine specimen as me, did ya?"

I grimaced in disgust. "Please, Tuck. Don't make me barf."

We laughed heartily, forgetting for a moment the impending doom that surrounded our friendship. Danny flew over to my bed and sat down.

"Give me a minute, guys," he begged sorrowfully before closing his eyes and painfully trying to locate his human self.

Tucker came over and sat on the other side of Danny and each of us took one of his hands in ours, offering as much support as we knew how to give. A small smile appeared on his face for a millisecond before his mouth twitched in concentration.

At last, after about five minutes of holding our breath, Danny was able to change back and we all released it in relief. Then, we sat and chatted for awhile, trying not to bring up the painful subject of Danny's slow demise.

This was the general routine every night that week. Tucker would come over promptly at eight o'clock and Danny would make his way to my room as soon as his ghost-fighting duties were done for the night. They would just leave of their own accords, sometimes not departing until past midnight. It took longer and longer every night, it seemed, for Danny to change back. At first, he'd acted self-conscious about sitting in silence as Tucker and I stared at him, but now the agony in his features was so evident that he didn't seem to care anymore about what we thought of his "weakness." He was too immersed in desperately trying to find himself, and it became harder and harder with each day.

One night, Danny had been in deep concentration for forty-five minutes and Tucker obviously needed to go to the bathroom. He looked up at me, as if for some sort of permission, and I nodded to him, rolling my eyes. He gently rose, trying not to break Danny's train of thought and he rushed to my bathroom. A few seconds later, Danny was able to change back and he looked at me, imploring sadly, "How long did that take?"

I averted my gaze. "Forty-five minutes."

He bobbed his head up and down numbly. "It's getting so hard to find my human half. I search and I search and it hurts so badly. I start panicking and rummaging wildly through my mind, but...I come up short. When I finally find it, I'm so tired, I..."

He trailed off and just fell onto me. I was caught off-guard, and I started to fall, too, but I eventually managed to get us both situated and we sat up. I put my arms around him and nestled my cheek against his unruly hair. I subconsciously stroked his arm and he sighed contentedly in my arms.

I heard the rush of water that signified the flush of a toilet and heard the bathroom door click. I only looked back when Tucker did not come to sit back down with us as I had expected him to.

I was a little confused when I saw he was no longer there. He'd probably left. Perhaps he felt that he was intruding on our "moment," perhaps he'd needed to get home before midnight, or perhaps he'd developed a case of constipation or something and needed to use his own bathroom.

Whatever the reason, that was the last time Tucker came to my room at night. I imagine it was a mixture of things: his discomfort at seeing Danny deteriorate before his eyes, his awkwardness about being around his best friend and his girlfriend as they spent what could be their final days together as two living human beings. On the whole, I suppose it really didn't matter. We only had a few nights left, anyway, and we all could tell.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

Indeed, the next night, Tucker called and said he couldn't come, giving the obviously phony excuse that his parents had suddenly forbidden him from coming to my house late at night. I didn't question it, however. Selfish and greedy as it may sound, I wanted Danny to myself for as long as I could have him.

I waited, getting impatient. It was already ten o'clock and Danny hadn't showed up yet. I began to get antsy and paced my floor fervently.

When at last he came, I gave him a look of agitation, and he replied, tears in his eyes, "I can't change back."

Frightened beyond my wits, I grabbed him and hauled him to the side of my bed, forcing him to concentrate. I held his hand and watched in silence. I felt sick, horrified, and nervous, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he probed his mind and gritted his teeth in frustrated anguish.

It was the longest two hours of my life, but he made it. Slowly and with almost a hint of reluctance, those familiar and welcome white rings emerged around his waist and transformed Danny. I sobbed in relief, not believing how thankful I was just to see his human side again.

He cried as well, relief flooding his pained features. The strain of the past few weeks was obviously wearing on him. The creases in his forehead made him seem permanently worried. The bags under his eyes spoke of his prominent lack of sleep, and his skinny frame displayed just how much the panic and apprehension were affecting his eating habits.

Then, he unexpectedly collapsed into me, nearly giving me a heart attack in the process.

"Danny?" I coaxed much louder than I had intended.

His breathing was so heavy, it was hard to understand him as he spoke. "I...just so tired, Sam. So tired."

I shushed him and stroked his beautiful black hair, feeling the need to touch his human self. As much as I loved both halves of Danny, I was getting sicker and sicker of seeing Phantom all the time. His human half now held some sort of immortal beauty to it. Seeing it was honestly the best sight I had ever beheld in my life.

I gently lowered Danny to the floor and his head lolled sideways as he fought to stay awake. I could just picture my parents' reaction to Danny sleeping in my room, but I didn't care. He was obviously exhausted, and he needed a place to sleep now. With any luck, they would never find out...and if they did, it wouldn't matter. _Their_ concern was not of _my_ concern. Walking to the closet, I quietly grabbed my old sleeping bag and threw it out onto the floor.

By now, Danny was dozing off, and I felt horrible awakening him, but I couldn't carry him to the sleeping bag; even in his weakened state, he was much too muscular for me to handle.

"Come on, Danny," I prompted, tenderly lifting him to the best of my ability.

He took initiative and moseyed his way to the bag on the floor. He didn't even bother slipping inside of it; he just lay down on top and curled into a ball, quickly passing out right afterwards.

I let my gaze remain on his still, sleeping form for a long while. He was so beautiful in his sleep. So beautiful in his human form. I bent over and gently placed a kiss on his forehead, and he smiled widely in his dreams. I grinned, too, hoping that, somehow, I had given him something pleasant to dream of instead of long nights of worry and nightmares.

I turned the light off and the world seemed to grow even darker than before.

* * *

**So, perhaps still a tad OOC for Sam, but I tried to fix her a little for you guys...I know it was bugging you. Her reactions/emotions do have to fit the overall angsty and dramatic tone, though, so I couldn't change too much. Hopefully, we've met a happy place somewhere in between. So...any comments you'd care to make in a review would be most welcome. I'd love to know that you're reading this and how you're liking it. Encouragements as well as concerns are welcome. Thanks so much!**


	3. Faded Away

**A/N: So, here it is. The final installment of this three-shot. It shall not please all of you...of this I am certain. **

**As a warning: this chapter is the reason for the "T" rating. It almost crosses a line, but I think it's ambiguous enough not to be "M." I edited it a tad, but please let me know if you're still uncomfortable with the rating. I don't want to give too much away beyond that, so, please enjoy.**

* * *

When I woke up, I groaned. I'd not had a pleasant night of sleep. Thoughts and theories raced through my mind; memories of times with Danny and Tucker had caused me to cry for the old times. The little sleep I had gotten consisted of horrible nightmares of Danny dying slowly before my eyes. The only consolation of the night was that Danny hadn't made any sounds of distress, and he seemed to have slept relatively well. So I was all-in-all, somewhat pleased. 

Until I turned over to look at Danny Fenton and saw Phantom.

Ticked, I scrambled out of bed and shook the boy awake. "Danny!" I shouted furiously.

He pushed me away, grumbling. "Not now, Sam. So tired..."

"Daniel Fenton, you'd better wake up or I'll whack you upside the head with my Fenton Thermos."

He opened one eye to peek at me, then begrudgingly awoke. "All right, all right. Geez, you don't have to get so angry, Sam."

I tapped my foot rapidly, "Oh, don't I? Could you explain to me why you're in ghost form?"

His eyes suddenly lost all lethargy and his head shot up at me sharply. "What?"

His astonishment bewildered me, so I just pointed to my mirror to suggest that he look for himself. Quickly, he jolted from his position on the floor and ran to the mirror. Indeed, his reflection was that of a boy with snow white hair and glowing green eyes.

"Oh no," he muttered in terror.

I tilted my head, perplexed. "What?"

He turned back to me, shaking his head. "It must have happened while I was asleep. We figured it might come to this..."

"Come to what?" I questioned anxiously.

"When I used to pass out in ghost form, I would always return to human form. Now that I'm mostly ghost, I must return to ghost form when I pass out as a human."

I gaped at him in disbelief. "How are you going to go to school?" was all I could think to ask.

He shrugged slightly. "I guess I'll just have to go in ghost form. Everyone knows, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal."

But we both knew it _was _that big of a deal.

When we came to school, everybody looked surprised to see Danny Phantom, much as they all knew his true identity. Everyone except for Tucker appeared excited and wowed by his sudden change in appearance. Tucker, conversely, frowned and seemed to know exactly what had happened. He again spoke not a word, but continued to feign interest in English as Danny sat in the back of the class, concentrating deeply but trying not to make it so obvious

It wasn't until about lunchtime that he turned back, much to the dismay of Paulina who had been eyeing him hungrily throughout the day.

He panted in exhaustion, but Tucker and I were ready with coffee and chocolate to help keep him awake. He couldn't pass out again, not after all that hard work.

"It's so hard now," he shared. "I mean, like, REALLY hard. It's almost gone, I can feel it. It really feels like that was my last change."

Tucker and I exchanged worried looks before we silently returned to our lunches.

Finally, when the bell rang to signify the end of lunch, Tucker grabbed Danny's shoulder.

"Dude, seriously, I think you should lay off of the ghost-fighting thing for awhile, okay? Sam and I can handle it for now, right Sam?" he asked, pleading with me to agree.

I nodded furiously in response, hoping to convince Danny that he should settle down and stay human for as long as possible.

Danny cast us both looks of scrutiny and reluctance, but he nodded nonetheless. He was probably just too tired to argue.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

So, for the next few days, ghosts ran rampant. With Jack and Maddie incapacitated by their need for a speedy solution to this dilemma, Tucker, Jazz and I were left with the task of ghost fighting.

Needless to say, it was a lot harder to prevent ghost attacks without Danny's help.

We ran around aimlessly most of the time, being led on wild goose chases by various ghosts who either didn't care about our plight or who felt the disgusting need to worsen the situation. They phased in and out of buildings tirelessly, terrorizing their inhabitants and forcing us to enter the buildings the hard way, as phasing was not an option for us. Our weapons, though effective, were not nearly as powerful as Danny's ecto-blasts and our resolve and strength were nowhere near the caliber of his.

Likewise, Danny had cut back on sleep even more, as he now knew that it would lead to an unwanted transformation. His ghost sense would constantly go off in school or when we were at Tucker's house during the day.

We saw the looks of failure and helplessness that crossed through his eyes when he saw the Box Ghost haunting people outside or other insignificant ghosts causing harmless havoc. Normally, he would have hurried outside and fought to let off some steam, but now he couldn't. He even left the bigger ghost fights to Team Phantom, himself not included.

I could see that his inability to help seemed to be tearing him apart more than his general situation was. It was killing him emotionally while his body was being sucked away from him physically. It was a dreaded thing to watch, but I held out a small grain of hope that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton would produce some sort of miracle drug and Danny would be cured.

But, alas, it would not last. About four days into this strenuous routine, news reports started showing up, blaming Danny for the sudden onslaught of ghosts. I guess the fact that he was an overworked teenage boy did not affect the town's penchant for blaming him. No one in Amity Park knew about his symptoms except those he had told in confidence. We didn't exactly want people freaking out and jumping to conclusions about his sudden decline...and yet it was happening anyway. This was why Danny had kept his identity a secret for so long; he knew no one would ever really understand, much as they carried the facade of pretending to.

So, I guess one night, Skulker was running amuck, chasing down people and setting fire to buildings. Tucker, Jazz and I set out to do our duty, exhausted from the past week of battle, but when we got outside, our hearts sank in mutual dismay as we saw Danny up in the sky, easily gaining the upper hand on the ghost hunter. We could tell he was more comfortable in ghost form, more powerful, too. He was passionate in his fighting tactics, as though thrilled to be back in the game. Something in his eyes shone and I knew that at least he was back in full force emotionally.

The rest of us looked at each other for a long time, then quietly returned to our homes. I hadn't been back in my room more than ten minutes before I felt the cold. I looked up at him with sad apprehension in my eyes.

He held the same expression. "I can't feel it, Sam. I can't feel my other half."

Once again, tired and weary, we took our positions on my bed and sat. This time, Danny couldn't hold back the grunts of pain as he swirled through his mind trying to find it. He seemed to be coming up against barriers and hindrances, and I winced with every cry of pain. He groaned in frustration and all I could do was sit there and mutter words of encouragement.

Talk about feeling helpless.

Finally, after one last cry of agony five hours later, Danny changed back. Even after he reverted, however, he seemed to carry the same amount of pain in his eyes. He flinched when I reached out to stroke that shining, black, messy hair of his. The pain in his eyes was only too evident, and both of us were too tired to fight back the days and days of lost sleep anymore.

"I love you, Sam," he mumbled before he keeled over backward onto my bed, head resting on the pillow I never used.

I was about to get up and retrieve the sleeping bag again, but I thought better of it. I stared down at him, still amazed by his beauty, yet knowing he would change back into his other half any moment now. I was too tired to bother and too lovesick to care. Instead, I slid beneath my covers and rested my head on his shoulder. I ran my hand slowly and guiltlessly up and down his body, telling myself I could do so because we had no more time in the future, and therefore no time to wait.

Danny seemed to be at least half-awake, as he responded in turn by kissing me and sliding beneath the covers.

We carried on passionately until we were both spent of whatever energy we had left. Finally, we fell asleep, I in the arms of the man I wished would never leave me, but I knew would probably be gone by morning.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

I woke up in a panic, fearful that I would wake up with Danny Phantom and never see his alter-ego again. However, it turned out worse than my fears suggested and I woke up next to no one.

Danny was gone.

Panicked, I leaped from my bed and threw on some clothes haphazardly before running around my house in a flurry looking for him. I opened closets, rummaged through cabinets and called into bathrooms as I quested. It was very early, so my parents were not yet awake, so I tried to remain as calm and quiet as possible given the circumstances.

At last, while I was in my living room, I felt a cold draft. But for some reason, it felt colder than usual, so I turned around with greater anxiety than ever before.

He was standing, leaning in my doorway casually, arms crossed and a small smirk overpowering his face. "Looking for something?"

I smiled widely in relief. "Danny! Oh my goodness, I was getting so worried. Thank God you're all right."

He shrugged, still smirking. "Better than all right."

My face fell and I cocked my head at him strangely, wary of his answer. "What do you mean?"

He stopped leaning and stood upright, looking significantly stronger and more awake than before; empowered. "It's amazing. I just feel this unlimited power coursing through me. I'm...free. I have no emotional ties, no duties, no worries. Nothing."

I took a step back, shaken by his attitude. "No emotional ties? What about me?"

He brought his eyes up to meet mine and I saw in them...nothing. Cold, raw, emotionless green orbs staring back at me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as horror struck me.

"What about you?" he asked coolly.

I fell back against my wall, blown away by his heartless inquiry. That blow had hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt before in my life and I felt my stomach twist and wrench inside of me. Shaking my head, I answered him, "What do you mean 'what about me'? I'm you're girlfriend, Danny! I love you!"

He threw his head back and laughed hollowly. "Well, I don't love you," he stabbed. "I don't love anyone. I can't. I'm a ghost--no more human emotions to drag me down."

I continued to shake my head in disbelief, dread mounting. This could not be the same man I had slept in the arms of last night. This could not be my Danny.

And then, I remembered. He wasn't my Danny—at least, not completely.

I was distracted from my rapid-fire wonderings when I heard a large crash coming from outside. Danny and I both scrambled out my door to see what was going on. We peered out and saw a gigantic green monster terrorizing Amity Park. It was smashing down buildings and causing people to scream and run for their lives. Instinctively, I looked over at Danny expectantly.

He sighed. "Guess I should go help."

My eyes narrowed at him in perplexity. "I don't understand. If you don't have any emotional ties to anyone, how is it that you still have a sense of justice?" I asked, jealous.

But when he turned to me quickly and I met those icy, dead eyes, he sneered and confirmed beyond my worst fears, "Who said I was helping the people?"

He jumped up immediately afterward and made his way toward the blob. I could feel tears of shock sliding down my face. So, it was true. Ghosts were naturally evil and went after whatever they were driven toward...even Danny was no exception. For a brief moment, Frostbite and Clockwork passed through my mind, but I deduced they must have either been flukes or they were actually not ghosts; at least not in the sense that Danny now was.

Almost blinded by my tears, I stumbled to my living room and picked up the phone, quickly dialing the Fenton's. My hand was shaking as I tried to hold the phone to my ear. Finally, Jazz's voice answered fearfully, "Hello?"

"Jazz?" I rasped hoarsely. "Call Tucker and wake up your parents. Tell them to get the stasis chamber ready. You, Tucker, and I have to catch him."

The other line went silent for a few long moments. Finally, she replied emotionlessly, "All right. We'll be right over."

Then, she hung up and I was left sitting in my house, horrified and hurt beyond belief. I looked out and saw Phantom cackling as he shot random ecto-blasts at passers-by. But his eyes did not hold that same passion they'd held last night. They were hard and spoke of nothing from his inner soul, as they usually did before.

I grabbed my Fenton Thermos and walked outside, waiting on the curb for the rest of my team to come. This was worse than just dying. He'd lost every fiber of his moral being...and I'd lost the best love I'd ever have.

It was at that moment, waiting, drained at the corner of the road and watching Danny lose himself and everything he stood for that I realized:

Now it was my life that was steadily fading...

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**The end. Open-ended enough for you? I thought this was a rather good place to stop, as you, the reader, can now imagine up whatever you want as to their future. I'll leave it at that. Again, the rating--any problems? Any theories you'd like to share with me? Whatever your thoughts/opinions, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks so much for reading. **

**Note 3/12: This story is now continued in Devianta's "Preservations." If you'd like to read more of this story, be sure to check that out. **


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